Saturday, October 25, 2008

I've seen some Facebook friends I know from my early days playing classical music around L.A., joining groups like "Protect Marriage - Vote Yes on Prop 8!". It boggles my mind. You're a classical musician. You are surrounded by gay people. Do you really want to deny your colleagues and supposed friends a basic human right? And if you are a conservative - which I'm sure most of you are - think of it like this: Voting Yes on Prop 8 increases government intervention into citizens' lives. It is antithetical to the idea of limited government.

Voting No on Prop 8 doesn't change anything. It won't force schools to teach the merits of gay marriage to your kids. It won't make anyone do anything. Voting Yes, however, does. It will strip rights from thousands of Californians. It will create a second class status for thousands of people, people you know and work with.

The idea of gay marriage offends you? Fine. Then talk to a gay friend about your concerns, write about your thoughts and sent an article to your local newspaper editor or start a blog, work on making your own heterosexual relationship an ideal one. There are any number of positive, societal things you can do that don't rely on the power of the state to force your beliefs onto other people. Skipping those and going directly to the government for support is lazy and cowardly, as well as futile. Government cannot change how people feel, love, and hate, so don't ask it to, it will only do more harm than good.